


Looking Up

by mysensitiveside



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Red Queen Week, Tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-28
Updated: 2014-10-28
Packaged: 2018-02-22 23:39:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2525903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysensitiveside/pseuds/mysensitiveside
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby needs a favor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Looking Up

**Author's Note:**

> \- Written for Red Queen Week, Day 2 (Tropes)  
> \- The trope is: fake dating  
> \- Takes place at some vague point during the first curse, before the pilot.

Ruby didn't know what could have _possibly_ possessed her to do this.

Momentary insanity, obviously.

Because really, there was simply nothing else that could explain why she – lowly waitress – would spontaneously decide to ask Regina Mills – dignified, intimidating, sexy Mayor Mills – out on a date. Not that it was a real date. But still. _She'd asked out the freaking mayor_.

Ruby gulped, staring wide-eyed at the white front door to the mayoral mansion.

Just barely able to resist the impulse to turn tail and run, Ruby took in a deep breath, raised her hand, and knocked.

_~11 Hours Earlier~_

“Good morning, Mayor Mills! Hi, Henry!”

“Miss Lucas.” Regina nodded her head just slightly as she entered the diner, much more reserved than the seemingly always-exuberant young woman.

Henry didn't even bother responding, face dark and sullen as he practically threw himself into their usual booth.

If Ruby noticed the tension between mother and son, she didn't comment.

Ruby filled a fresh mug of coffee and grabbed her order pad, following the pair over to the table. “The usual for you both?” she asked, placing the mug in front of Regina.

“Yes,” Regina replied. Henry remained silent, leading her to prompt, “Henry? Do you know what you would like?”

Henry glared up at her, then, and there was such anger, such hatred, in his eyes; Regina had to strain to not physically recoil from his look.

“ _Whatever_ ,” he growled out. “None of this matters. None of this is real! I hate everything!”

Ruby grimaced awkwardly. “I’ll just get you both your usual,” she said, starting to head back towards the kitchen.

“Wait.” Instinctively, Regina reached out and just barely touched Ruby on the arm before immediately pulling her hand back in embarrassment. Clearing her throat, she turned back to her son. “Henry, you can be angry at me all you like, but you will _not_ be rude to Miss Lucas.”

Henry lowered his chin to his chest, but glanced over at Ruby out of the corner of his eye and murmured, “Sorry, Ruby. Pancakes, please.”

Regina nodded in satisfaction. She kept her own eyes forward, but could feel Ruby's gaze on her and just barely caught sight of Ruby's small but sincere smile in her peripheral vision. The waitress finally turned to Henry as she answered, “Sure thing, kiddo. Coming right up.”

Their meal was held in tense silence, but Regina put up a good front, at least, pretending to be unaffected by her son's bitter resentment towards her.

When Archie showed up to get a cup of coffee fifteen minutes before the scheduled start of his session with Henry, he offered to save Regina some time by taking Henry over to his office himself. Opening her mouth to refuse, she was startled by the sudden movement from across the table as Henry quickly stood up.

“Great. Let's go, then,” he said, before bolting out of the diner without even a glance back in his mother's direction.

Regina grit her teeth and steeled her face against the hurt that was just aching to show itself, then smiled tightly and thanked Archie. He nodded nervously and quickly left to hurry after her boy.

Closing her eyes, Regina allowed herself one moment to lean her head back against the top of the booth and breathe deeply, pushing the sting of despair down as deep as she could get it.

That moment lasted longer than she meant it to, because then there was a soft touch on her shoulder, and Regina jerked upright and turned to glare darkly at the person who dared to approach her; it was moments like this that made Regina practically itch for her magic, wanting to lash out and fry the unwanted intruder to a crisp.

Ruby's hand quickly retreated, and she took a noticeable step backwards, before smiling sheepishly. “Sorry, um, to bother you, Mayor Mills. I just… I just wanted to say that… Well, no offense to your kid, but I’m pretty sure that all kids his age are designed to be little shits now and then.” Regina raised a single eyebrow but said nothing, and Ruby began to ramble. “I mean, not that I mean to call your son a little shit. …And not that I should swear in front of the mayor. God, I’m such a fu-”

Ruby just barely managed to catch herself, coughing over the end of her last word and leaving her sentence unfinished. Regina merely arched her eyebrow even higher as a slight blush spread over Ruby's cheeks. “And now I know exactly how that chick in _Love Actually_ felt,” she continued after a long beat of silence. “You can’t have me fired, can you?”

Tamping down on her amusement, Regina remembered that Ruby had only come over here because her son had essentially thrown a tantrum. In a _public_ place. Any trace of amusement fled immediately. Luckily, Ruby had been the only one to witness Henry's earlier outburst.

Regina ignored Ruby's question and instead reached for her purse. “I understand what you seem to be attempting to say, Miss Lucas,” Regina said. “I would be greatly appreciative, however, if you would refrain from spreading any kind of gossip about my son's behavior this morning.”

With that, she held out some money, noticeably more than their breakfast had cost, towards Ruby.

Ruby looked down at her outstretched hand, then up at Regina's face with a look of confused annoyance. “Okay, are you seriously trying to _bribe_ me into not telling people that your son yelled at you?” She released a short, humorless laugh. “Look, I came over here to try to be nice, but now I’m honestly pretty insulted, so you can keep your money, and I’m just gonna go.”

Ruby turned to walk away, but, to her own surprise, Regina found herself calling for the other woman to wait, for the second time in the span of a single morning.

Ruby stopped walking, but kept her back to Regina.

“Miss Lucas, I apologize. I truly didn't mean to offend you. I simply wanted to… To thank you. For being kind.” The words that came out were stilted, but somehow Regina did manage to say them.

Though the flash of anger was gone when Ruby turned back around, her expression was skeptical at best. Regina did her best to look contrite – it simply wouldn't do to alienate the person who made her coffee most mornings – and it must have worked, because with a sigh, Ruby unfurrowed her brow.

The bell over the door rang out, and both women startled at the sound and looked over to see Dr. Whale walk inside. “Hey Rubes,” he called out with a not-even-remotely-subtle sweep of his eyes up and down Ruby's body. “Coffee to go, if you don’t mind.”

“Maybe I _do_ mind,” she mumbled under her breath, causing a corner of Regina's lips to tick upwards in a small, brief grin. “Gimme one minute, okay?” Ruby turned to direct the question at Regina, but didn't wait for an answer before striding off to deal with Whale.

It was just a little over 60 seconds when Ruby returned, sitting herself down across from Regina and leaning forward to rest her folded arms on the table. “Okay, I just had a totally crazy thought, but if you want to thank me – and make up for that totally offensive attempt at a bribe – there's a favor you could do for me.”

Regina frowned. This morning was turning into a perfect reminder for why she didn't like interacting with the commoners any more than necessary. “A favor, Miss Lucas?”

Ruby leaned back, raising her open palms in a placating gesture. “Hey, it's actually a bit of a win-win, I think.” Regina stared back evenly, revealing nothing. Something in her expression apparently made Ruby second-guess herself, however, because she suddenly grew self-conscious. “You know what, never mind. It was really really crazy, and just… Forget the whole thing, okay? We’re good. No gossiping, no bribing, no-”

“Miss Lucas, I’m beginning to lose my patience, so if I were you, I would go ahead and say whatever it is that you came over here with the express purpose of saying, before I decide to get up and walk out that door.”

Ruby swallowed visibly. “Right. Yeah. Well…” She took a deep breath. “Okay, screw it. So here's the thing. Ashley – you know Ashley, right? You know everyone in this town. Anyway, she's invited me and a few other people over to her apartment tonight, and I already said yes, but I just recently found out that Whale was invited too, and to be perfectly honest with you, I've always gotten a bit of a ‘creepy’ kind of vibe from him; I mean he's good-looking enough, but definitely too sketchy for my taste, and he's been kind of super aggressive in his flirting with me, to the point where he really makes me pretty uncomfortable, and I was thinking how, maybe if I brought someone with me, then he’d finally get the hint and leave me alone, and _then_ I was thinking who could be better than the mayor, because you’re like way above his league, so hopefully he’d realize that in spite of my not-so-pristine reputation, my standards are actually way higher than him and that being sleazy is not a successful strategy.”

Regina blinked.

“Are you asking me out on a _date_ , Miss Lucas?”

Ruby flushed as red as that cloak she used to have back in the other world, stammering out, “No. I mean, not really. Like, a fake date. So, Whale would have to think we were on a date, but it wouldn't actually be a real date or anything. Unless… Well, no, nothing.”

The women simply stared at each other for a moment, both equally glad that the diner was unusually empty.

Regina smirked. “So I’m 'way above' Whale's league, am I?”

Ruby laughed and looked down at her hands in her lap with a small, self-conscious smile. “Well, yeah. You’re this powerful, articulate, striking woman, literally _running_ the entire town. If I were him, I’d certainly be intimidated away.”

“Or you’d be a pig and proposition the two of us together,” Regina pointed out.

“Oh, I didn't even think of that.” Ruby turned an even brighter shade of red. “Right. Like I said, it was just a crazy idea. And a stupid one. So, really, just forget the whole thing, I shouldn't have said anything. I just thought, I don’t know, that maybe you’d appreciate a night out. I can’t imagine how stressful it must be, what with being both the mayor and a single mom. That was the win-win part. But, really stupid idea, and-”

“Ruby,” Regina interrupted, unable to keep back a bemused smile. Later, she wouldn't even understand why she didn't just scoff at Ruby's idea and walk out with her head held high.

But instead, she found herself asking, “What time will you pick me up?”

_~Later~_

There was nothing but silence in response to Ruby's knock, and she again felt a sense of panic begin to rise. Asking the older woman you have a girl-crush on to go on a fake date with you had to be the absolute stupidest idea ever. Before she could enter full-blown panic mode, though, she heard the sound of clicking heels on the other side of the door.

It opened, revealing the mayor in a form-fitting, sleeveless, deep purple dress, stopping just above her knees and with a neckline showing a hell of a lot more cleavage than any of the standard power suits Ruby was used to seeing. Immediately, Ruby went from thinking too much to barely able to think anything at all.

“Um, hi, Madam Mayor,” she managed after a long moment, flushing when she realized she was staring. “Or, well, yeah. Hi.” She cleared her throat. “You look great.”

Regina was smirking when Ruby's eyes landed back on her face. “Good evening, Ruby. Perhaps we can let go of formalities for the night, since we’re now dating, after all. ‘Regina’ will do just fine. And thank you, dear, you look very nice, yourself.”

“Right. Regina.” Ruby shook her head, trying to clear it. She breathed out a large puff of air and then offered up her most charming smile. “Thanks, Regina. Are you ready?” She was glad that the mayor – Regina – seemed to approve of her outfit. She’d tried on approximately a million different sets of clothes before settling on a strapless crimson dress under her black leather jacket.

Regina exited the house and locked the door behind her, before taking the arm Ruby offered her and placing her hand in the crook of Ruby's elbow.

By the time they made it to Ashley's apartment, however, a fair amount of awkwardness had seeped in. Ruby took a deep breath, telling herself that even if this whole thing had been the stupidest idea ever, she was going to try her best to make the most of it.

“You still up for this?” she asked as they sat for a moment in her parked car. “You can totally back out if you want to. No hard feelings.”

Regina turned to her with a look of… If Ruby didn't know better, she’d say Regina almost looked nervous, an emotion she’d never before seen from Regina. It humanized her, somehow, in a way that not even seeing her argue with Henry had done. Feeling bold, Ruby reached out and touched Regina on the shoulder, squeezing lightly before letting go.

Regina smiled, barely. “No, of course I won’t back out. Shall we go?”

So Ruby jumped out of the car and, as well as she could in heels, hurried around to open Regina's door for her. They were silent as they walked up to the apartment building, but just after Ruby rang the doorbell, she felt Regina reach down and take hold of Ruby's hand in her own. Ruby looked down at their interlocking fingers, and then back up at Regina.

The other woman shrugged. “Hey, I’m here to put on a show, right?” she asked with a soft smile.

Ruby couldn't help but grin widely in response. “Right, yeah.”

“Hey, Rub- Oh.”

Ruby and Regina both turned to face the apartment door, neither one having noticed when it opened. Ashley stood in the doorway, staring between the two of them in surprise. “Mayor Mills, I wasn't expecting you.”

Ruby felt her heart rate speed up. She hadn't really thought through the fact that in trying to chase off Whale, she’d be telling everyone _else_ that she was dating the mayor too.

Regina began, “Yes, well-”

“I brought a date!” Ruby interrupted, too loudly, raising their clasped hands into the air to show Ashley. “I hope that's okay,” she finished in a softer tone.

Ashley shot her a questioning look, but ever the good hostess, she opened the door wide and stepped aside for them. “Of course, yeah, come on in.”

As they walked into the living room, the various conversations slowly died off as, one by one, everyone there became aware of the two of them, turning to blatantly stare. Ruby could feel Regina stiffen beside her, so she gave her hand a squeeze and, ignoring most of the room, pulled Regina to the side and over to talk with Billy and Ashley. Gradually, the conversations around them picked up again as well, and both Ruby and Regina simultaneously let out an exhale.

As the conversation flowed, mostly driven forward by Ashley, Ruby glanced around the room. Of course, Whale wasn't even there yet. Still, Regina seemed to be getting into character, even as Ruby couldn’t help but remain somewhat tense. It wasn't that she didn't want to be there with Regina. It was more the opposite, in fact. But the mere idea of actually being there, on a “date,” fake as it was, with _the mayor_ … And she didn't want to make Regina uncomfortable with anything…

Ruby looked down when she felt Regina release her hand, but it was only so that Regina could then drape her arm low across Ruby's back, her fingers trailing dangerously close to Ruby's ass. Regina turned her head and leaned in incredibly close, whispering softly into Ruby's ear.

“Breathe, dear. And in case you've forgotten, you’re supposed to be _totally_ into me.”

Ruby laughed out loud, but Regina's words did the trick, and she instantly relaxed. She wrapped her own arm around Regina's shoulders. Still smiling, she looked Regina right in the eye and said, “Of course, sweetie. How could I possibly forget that?” She winked, before leaning in and placing a brief but firm kiss to Regina's cheek.

It was then that Ruby realized that Billy and Ashley had both stopped talking. Blushing, she turned back to look at them. Both were openly staring, Billy with wide eyes and Ashley with a bright smile.

“You know, Ruby,” Ashley said, “I’ll admit that I thought it was seriously weird that you brought the mayor here, but seeing you two just now… I have to say, I _totally_ see it. It's still kinda weird, sure, but you guys are really cute! I mean, with all due respect, Madam Mayor. Right, Billy?”

Billy didn't reply, instead just continuing to stare, until Ashley elbowed him in the ribs.

“Huh?” Regina arched an eyebrow at him. “I mean, yeah. Yeah, totally.”

Ruby laughed again, reaching her free hand to swat at Billy's shoulder. “Stop perving on my date, dude.”

“I wasn't!” he protested, raising his hands in innocence. “Can everyone please stop hitting me now?”

Ruby smirked, but had to make an effort not to gasp out loud when she felt Regina use her thumb to start gently caressing Ruby's hip.

“Well thank you, Ashley,” Regina said smoothly.

It was then that Whale joined them; Ruby hadn't even noticed when he’d come in.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” he asked, looking them over from head to toe.

“Eyes up, Doctor,” Regina spat out, her eyes turning cold. The arm around Ruby's waist tightened, almost possessively, and Ruby instinctually stroked her thumb over Regina’s shoulder in a calming gesture. Her movement faltered when she remembered that this was all just an act, but keeping up appearances, she continued again after a moment.

Whale chuckled. “My sincerest apologies, Regina,” he said, about as insincerely as he could. “You've just…caught me by surprise.” He turned to Ruby. “So is this why you wouldn't go out with me?”

“One reason among many,” she replied cheerfully.

“Ooh, ouch,” he said, wincing dramatically and placing his hand over his heart. He smirked, then, pure smarm. “I don’t suppose you ladies would be interested in-”

“ _No_ ,” Regina interjected, her mouth curling into a sneer. “We most certainly would _not_.”

Whale's smirk didn't diminish in the slightest, and, almost as if he couldn't help it, his eyes lowered again into a leer. “Hey, can’t blame a guy for trying,” he asserted. Yeah, he was definitely a major creep.

Ruby felt her own surge of possession – unjustified as it was – and she had to hold back a growl.

Ignoring Whale's comment, Regina turned to her again. “Ruby, darling, I feel a sudden urge to not be standing right here. How about you show me around?”

~~

With that, they began to walk slowly together around the apartment, their arms still wrapped around each other. Regina had thought earlier that maybe she could leave once they’d made their appearance for Whale, but somehow, to her own surprise, she didn't feel all that inclined to leave. Ruby had been right – she really didn't get out much, and if nothing else, it felt good to have a change of pace.

They each got a glass of wine, and then ended up standing out on the fire escape to get some fresh air.

And then they simply talked. It was something Regina hadn't done in… She didn't even know how long. Ruby spoke about her dreams for the future, the ups and downs of her relationship with her grandmother, how she’d been thinking about adopting a dog. Regina half-wondered if her drink had been spiked, because after an initial hesitation, she somehow allowed herself to open up – just slightly – about her decision to adopt Henry, some of the issues they’d been having, the satisfaction she felt from being a good mayor.

“But I mean, there's more to life than just being there for your son and being good at your job, isn't there?” Ruby asked softly. Without really thinking about it, they’d gone back to holding hands, offering small squeezes of comfort and occasionally rearranging their fingers. Regina had told herself that it was in case anyone came looking for them.

“Like what?” she replied with a nonchalant shrug. “I certainly feel no need for a hobby, if that's what you’re saying. I am perfectly happy with my life.”

Regina knew that her words sounded forced, and Ruby took a moment to just look at her, seemingly trying to judge her sincerity.

“I don’t know, like… Friends,” Ruby suggested after a beat. “Or something you do to relax. Or, well, a non-fake relationship.”

Regina smiled indulgently. “I’m afraid I don’t have much time for any of the above.”

“So you should _make_ time,” Ruby insisted. She took a visibly deep breath, glancing down at her fingers, tangled in Regina's own, and then back up to Regina's face. “Look, I just want to say… I've had a really nice time tonight. Much nicer than anything I was ever expecting. And I know you really didn't have to do this for me, but I’m really glad you said yes. That's not even anything about Whale. I just…”

Ruby's tongue slipped out to wet her lips, and Regina's eyes were drawn to the flash of pink.

Ruby continued, “You’re actually really cool. And, well, you obviously don’t have to keep pretending to date me, but, I don’t know, maybe we could just hang out every once in a while?”

Regina simply gazed at the younger woman, an unwanted surge of affection running through her. She hadn't done this to gain some kind of friend. Honestly, she didn't even know why she _had_ done this. But Ruby was right; the night had far exceeded any expectations Regina had had. She’d never really thought much at all about Ruby before. In terms of this world, she was just the local waitress and nothing more.

Now that she was thinking about her, though, there was a sizeable part of Regina that couldn't help but enjoy the idea of stealing the loyalty of Snow White's best friend. But even beyond that, she’d found Ruby to be charming, thoughtful, easy to talk to – not to mention quite attractive; she had to admit that one as well.

Ruby was starting to squirm uncomfortably under Regina's scrutiny.

“I think I might like that,” Regina finally said, earning a wide smile in response.

“Yeah?” Ruby asked, noticeably perking up. If she still had a tail, she’d be wagging it.

Regina nodded, a smile of her own gracing her lips. “Yes.”

There was a bit of noticeable movement just inside Ashley's apartment, and Regina briefly shifted her eyes over to look. She rolled her eyes. “Whale is watching us,” she explained to Ruby.

A mischievous glint entered Ruby's eyes. “He is, huh?” Moving slowly, allowing Regina a chance to pull away, Ruby lifted her free hand to Regina's face, trailing the backs of her fingers down Regina’s cheek and along the edge of her jawline. Playing along, Regina kept her eyes locked on Ruby's, but shifted her head to place a kiss along Ruby's knuckles.

Regina could see Ruby swallow, and then her gaze dropped just slightly, landing on Regina's mouth. Regina watched as Ruby absently bit her bottom lip, then moistened it with her tongue before she leaned her head in, pausing when she was close enough that Regina could feel Ruby's breath on her lips. Ruby waited a moment, then leaned in the rest of the way, bringing their lips together.

The kiss was fairly chaste at first, until Regina returned the pressure, deepening the connection.

They broke apart after a minute, and Ruby breathed deeply in and out, keeping her eyes closed and letting her forehead fall against Regina's. Regina glanced back to the apartment.

“He's gone,” she whispered.

Ruby opened her eyes and shifted slightly backwards, but kept their faces close together. “Okay,” she whispered back.

Still, neither woman made any move to pull away. Finally, Regina extended her hand out to place it firmly on Ruby's hip. The second she made contact, Ruby's hand reached up to the back of Regina's head, pulling her back in for another kiss.

Regina's day had certainly started off quite badly. But, maybe, things might just be looking up.

 


End file.
